Netflix producers have admitted that Claire Foy was paid less than her co-star Matt Smith on the TV series, The Crown.

From the BBC to the NHS, in recent months the sheer scale of the gender pay gap has started to be exposed across multiple industries.

Now, Netflix producers of the hit TV series, The Crown have admitted to paying Claire Foy less than her co-star, Matt Smith.

Foy, who played the lead role as Queen Elizabeth, starred opposite Matt Smith, who portrayed her husband, Prince Philip. Even though The Crown is one of the most expensive television shoes ever produced, costing about $130 million (£93 million) for the first season alone, they still found reason to justify a pay disparity between its co-stars.

During a panel in the INTV Conference in Jerusalem on Tuesday 13 March, the show’s producers – Andy Harries, Suzanne Mackie and Martin Childs - said Smith’s Dr Who fame meant he commanded a bigger salary, according to Variety.

It’s another example of the gender pay gap within the industry as earlier this year it was revealed that actress Michelle Williams was paid a lot less for reshooting scenes in All The Money In The World compared to her co-star Mark Wahlberg.

Foy was reportedly paid $40,000 (£28,000) per episode for the first two series. Smith’s salary has not yet been disclosed.

After the first season of The Crown, Foy won a Golden Globe and a Screen Actor’s Guild award for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth.

Olivia Colman will be replacing Claire Foy in the third season of the show. The first season of the show was initially set in 1947, but the third and fourth will cover from 1963 onwards, thus the creators always intended to switch actors throughout. It’s not been announced who will play Prince Philip.

Mackie commented on the future salaries of The Crown saying, “Going forward, no one gets paid more than the Queen”.

And fans of the hit TV series have taken to Twitter to share their outrage at the disparity.

not to be dramatic or anything but the women of the crown, ESPECIALLY claire foy, carried the show. matt smith who? I DONT KNOW HER,,,,

I just wrote @netflix a DM expressing my great disappointment with #ClaireFoy being paid less than #MattSmith for #TheCrown even though she carried it. Take a minute to write to #Netflix & let them know that their female actors need to be paid equally to their male counterparts.